A closer look at the high stakes in the Burlington County Freeholder race

David Levinsky @davidlevinsky

Thursday

Nov 1, 2018 at 5:00 AM

Republicans have controlled the five-member county board for more than four decades, but a loss by either of GOP incumbents Kate Gibbs and Linda Hughes would swing the GOP’s 3-2 majority to the Democrats for the first time since 1975.

Burlington County’s high-stakes freeholder race is coming down to the wire, and while one Democratic candidate has suspended his campaign, Republican control of the five-member Board of Freeholders is still up for grabs.

Republicans have controlled the board for more than four decades, but a loss by either of GOP incumbents Kate Gibbs and Linda Hughes would swing the GOP’s 3-2 majority to the Democrats for the first time since 1975.

And while Democratic candidate George Youngkin suspended his campaign last month after it was revealed he was arrested in 2006 following a domestic violence incident with his ex-wife, his name is still on the ballot and his Democratic running mate, Felicia Hopson, is still campaigning for one of the two seats. If either candidate is victorious, control of the board would flip.

So what exactly does having majority control mean?

In a nutshell majority control of the Board of Freeholders gives the party responsibility for overseeing and directing most of county government. While municipal committees and councils have authority over services like local police and public works, and schools boards control the spending and hiring at school districts, which makes up the majority of local property tax bills, county government is responsible for scores of other services residents rely on, including upkeep of county highways and bridges, the county library system, open space preservation, emergency management, corrections and prosecution of crime.

The majority party sets the agenda, writes the budget and controls both the spending and hiring within county departments, such as the Engineer’s Office, Administration and Finance, Health and Human Services.

But that’s not all. The freeholders are also responsible for making appointments to the boards that oversee both the Burlington County Vocational School District and the Special Services School District, as well as the Rowan College at Burlington County Board of Trustees.

Commissioners on the Burlington County Bridge Commission, which owns and operates both the Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol toll bridges and serves as the county’s economic development authority and office of regional planning, are also appointed by the freeholders, as is the county’s representative on the New Jersey Pinelands Commission.

That’s a lot of authority in a large county and it covers thousands of employees and millions in taxpayer funds.

How much?

The county budget alone amounts to $205 million, including $183 million raised through property taxpayers.

In total, the county government spends more than $57.2 million on salaries and wages alone for 1,372 employees.

The Bridge Commission, which is governed by two commissioners from the party with majority control of the freeholder board and one from the minority party, has another 155 full and part-time employees and a $36.6 million operating budget and $48.2 million capital budget.

The county college’s budget is around $42 million and had 330 employees in 2016 and an enrollment of 4,458 full-time students this fall.

Of course it’s not just budgets, employees, appointments and salaries that freeholders control. There’s also millions in lucrative contracts awarded by the county and affiliated boards to firms and other businesses to perform work and services.

In 2017 alone, the Freeholders paid out more than $7.56 million in contracts to businesses and firms for work ranging from engineering and planning, accounting and legal services to highway repairs and improvements, according to records filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Combined with the contracts awarded by the Bridge Commission, county college and BCIT/Special Services School District more than $29.75 million was paid out last year to contractors, who were required to report details about their government contracts to the enforcement commission, along with any political contributions the business or its officers make to New Jersey candidates, county parties, or political action committees, if they earn more than $50,000 from government contracts in a calendar year.

The ELEC records show that many of the firms receiving lucrative contracts from the county, Bridge Commission, college and county school districts are frequent contributors to Burlington County Republican candidates or the party, a practice known as “pay to play.”

New Jersey law and executive orders restrict businesses holding state contracts greater than $17,500 from making political contributions to the sitting governor or candidates running for governor, or to state and county political parties. Generally, contributions to PACs, independent nonprofit groups and legislative candidates are not restricted. Furthermore, independent nonprofits, frequently called super PACs, are not required to divulge the sources of their contributions.

In addition to the state restrictions, many counties and municipalities have their own laws limiting how much a business receiving government contracts can contribute to local candidates or political parties. But many also include an exemption if the contract is advertised in a "fair and open" manner. Burlington County's government includes a "fair and open" provision in its contracting law.

Hopson, who has served on the Willingboro school board since 2014, has promised to look at strengthening the county’s pay-to-play rules, arguing that county government should be transparent and work “for the people, not the politically connected.”

The Republicans have countered that the county’s contracting is already open and transparent and that contractors are selected based on their experience and expertise rather than political contributions and that the county’s fiscal record reflects that.

Overall county spending has decreased by $227 million during the last decade and the county’s per capita spending of $346 per resident is the lowest of any county in New Jersey. Bergen County is the next lowest in the state at $454 per resident.

Both Moody's Investors Services and S&P Global Inc. have also upgraded the county's credit ratings, citing the strong local economy and the government's financial track record.

A close race expected

While Republicans’ long tenure in charge of the freeholder board has created the perception that the county is a GOP stronghold, the number of registered voters show how hard fought that majority has been, as the 115,964 registered Democrats vastly outnumber the county’s 77,794 registered Republicans, and also come close to matching the 119,107 unaffiliated voters who call the county home.

Prior to the report about Youngkin’s past, the Democrats were considered almost favorites in this year’s race due to the party’s voter registration advantage and expectations that turnout will be higher than normal due to interest in the congressional races at the top of the ballot. The report about Youngkin’s past arrest shook up the contest and created a rocky path for a Democratic takeover.

His Nov. 9, 2006, arrest was revealed in an incident report created by Burlington County Central Communications after an off-duty officer witnessed the apparent domestic dispute in the parking lot of the Walmart in Evesham and called 911. He was charged with simple assault by the case was dismissed after his former wife received a court order restraining him from direct contact with her

Youngkin’s name remains on the election ballot because mail-in ballots had already been sent out when he announced he would suspend his campaign. The Democrats opted not to file litigation to try to have his name removed.

Republicans have focused their advertising on his history and the Democrats selection of him as a candidate. They have also said his move to suspend his campaign was a “ruse” and that Hopson and former Freeholder Joanne Schwartz, who is running for county clerk against Republican clerk Tim Tyler, have encouraged voters to support the Democratic column, creating the possibility he might still win election.

Hopson has said Youngkin will not serve if elected and that the party would pick a replacement to serve in the seat until November, when a special election for the remaining two years of the term would be held. But Youngkin has declined to comment when asked if he planned to step down if elected.

If Gibbs and Hughes defend their seats next week, Democrats will still have another chance to win control of the board in 2019 when Republican Latham Tiver’s seat is up for grabs. However, the party will have less of an advantage because turnout is expected to be much lower in an off-year election with the New Jersey Assembly races at the top of the ballot.

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